Many thanks to Guest Reviewer, Charlotte Orzel for this heartfelt review:
It was a cold and icy winter evening as I joined fellow theatre goers for the Intrepid Theater Company’s production of RENT. The house full, the energy was high, and excitement was in the air. It was hard not to sing the entire score from the audience. I first saw it in high school and I think that makes me part RENT-head.
Fran Liebowitz talks of the loss of the AIDS generation, in which not only did we lose the trajectory of arts culture, but the arts knowledge and audience the likes of which we may never see again. RENT is considered a seminal work of the AIDS epidemic, along with Angels In America. Loosely based on Puccini’s La Boheme, RENT is a rock opera about young artists squatting in Manhattan’s East Village. Its creator, Jonathan Larsen, died an untimely death at age 35 the night before it debuted Off-Broadway. RENT is about the idealism that is only experienced in one’s youth, where your whole is ahead of you, and you have nothing to lose. It captures the voice of a generation, much like Hair and Godspell before it. It takes place over the holiday season, the time of year beloved morality tales such as A Christmas Carol and It’s A Wonderful Life make us confront our mortality, life and death, and the meaning of life.
The characters in RENT know the world is about to change – the dawn of the internet, mass media and conformity. They also know that AIDS will rob them of their future, and with it the essence of what it means to be a free-thinking individual. It contains the last of what was “real” before everything changed. Relationships, experiences and community seemed more vibrant, dynamic, sensual, and fun!
The staging at Stage One feels like you’re at a punk rock show. The upstairs of the Sycamore Creek Church feels intimate, with Christmas lights and close seating. The “set” is a table and some chairs. What is missing, however, are microphones and feeders – something the professional productions of RENT have by design; not just for the cool factor, but because the accompaniment is so sparse it is nearly impossible to sing without hearing it. It gives credit to the incredible talent of the Intrepid Theatre company. They are true rock stars, and being in their presence makes us cool. The music is a perfect 80’s/90’s mix of new wave, rock, pop, soul, dance, and calypso. The actors’ voices seem made for these roles; I enjoyed them so much!
My first thought as the actors took the stage was how young they were. Yet they are no younger than their characters. I’m the one who’s gotten old. I reflected on the past 25 years since I first saw RENT and asked myself if I kept the ideals I once had. Do I live my values? Am I realizing my dreams, or my parents? Do I give more than I take? Create more than destroy? This is what it means to “live every day like it’s your last.”
The Intrepid Theatre Company aims to provide “bold, fearless, and ambitious theatre that ignites discovery and empowers audiences and artists”. What could be a greater example than this production? The Lansing Area AIDS Network (LAAN) hosts a raffle during intermission. If you need to beat the holiday blues, RENT will heal your soul. No day but today.
Only two more performances: Saturday and Sunday, December 14th at 7:30 PM and December 15th at 3 PM at Stage One 2200 Lake Lansing Road, across from McAlister’s Deli. Tickets are available at https://our.show/nodaybuttoday
It was a cold and icy winter evening as I joined fellow theatre goers for the Intrepid Theater Company’s production of RENT. The house full, the energy was high, and excitement was in the air. It was hard not to sing the entire score from the audience. I first saw it in high school and I think that makes me part RENT-head.
Fran Liebowitz talks of the loss of the AIDS generation, in which not only did we lose the trajectory of arts culture, but the arts knowledge and audience the likes of which we may never see again. RENT is considered a seminal work of the AIDS epidemic, along with Angels In America. Loosely based on Puccini’s La Boheme, RENT is a rock opera about young artists squatting in Manhattan’s East Village. Its creator, Jonathan Larsen, died an untimely death at age 35 the night before it debuted Off-Broadway. RENT is about the idealism that is only experienced in one’s youth, where your whole is ahead of you, and you have nothing to lose. It captures the voice of a generation, much like Hair and Godspell before it. It takes place over the holiday season, the time of year beloved morality tales such as A Christmas Carol and It’s A Wonderful Life make us confront our mortality, life and death, and the meaning of life.
The characters in RENT know the world is about to change – the dawn of the internet, mass media and conformity. They also know that AIDS will rob them of their future, and with it the essence of what it means to be a free-thinking individual. It contains the last of what was “real” before everything changed. Relationships, experiences and community seemed more vibrant, dynamic, sensual, and fun!
The staging at Stage One feels like you’re at a punk rock show. The upstairs of the Sycamore Creek Church feels intimate, with Christmas lights and close seating. The “set” is a table and some chairs. What is missing, however, are microphones and feeders – something the professional productions of RENT have by design; not just for the cool factor, but because the accompaniment is so sparse it is nearly impossible to sing without hearing it. It gives credit to the incredible talent of the Intrepid Theatre company. They are true rock stars, and being in their presence makes us cool. The music is a perfect 80’s/90’s mix of new wave, rock, pop, soul, dance, and calypso. The actors’ voices seem made for these roles; I enjoyed them so much!
My first thought as the actors took the stage was how young they were. Yet they are no younger than their characters. I’m the one who’s gotten old. I reflected on the past 25 years since I first saw RENT and asked myself if I kept the ideals I once had. Do I live my values? Am I realizing my dreams, or my parents? Do I give more than I take? Create more than destroy? This is what it means to “live every day like it’s your last.”
The Intrepid Theatre Company aims to provide “bold, fearless, and ambitious theatre that ignites discovery and empowers audiences and artists”. What could be a greater example than this production? The Lansing Area AIDS Network (LAAN) hosts a raffle during intermission. If you need to beat the holiday blues, RENT will heal your soul. No day but today.
Only two more performances: Saturday and Sunday, December 14th at 7:30 PM and December 15th at 3 PM at Stage One 2200 Lake Lansing Road, across from McAlister’s Deli. Tickets are available at https://our.show/nodaybuttoday
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